R U Directional?

Ok this is not really related to any travel adventures but more about the local "culture".

After a conversation at work, it has come to my attention that it is all about directions in the US. By that I mean the 4 directions: East, South, West and North.

The most obvious we have previously covered - how to navigate yourself in the US. All interstates are referenced by directions (you go onto I35 N take the exit 245B and bear left to go onto 183 W, etc etc)

Then I learned a new term: Directional School. That sounds interesting doesn't it?

The conversation started with me asking about high schools and colleges in Texas, like which ones are good and which ones are not so good. My colleague said that he went to a school where students were selected and complete more aggressive programs, some actually are accepted for credits in universities.

According to him, schools partially funded by the government are the better ones. Then we were talking about universities and that's when he said "...oh but the university changed its name from University of North Texas to University of Dallas because it sounds better, you know like so it is not a directional school".

I instantly understood what he meant - Imagine, Melb U being called University of North Melbourne, that just doesn't sound right! When there is a direction associated to a school name, you almost get the feeling that it is not quite... well... centered. We don't have that problem with the universities in Melbourne because they are simply named. But hey, how many people still think University of Melbourne sounds the most prestigeous out of the lot?